Beijing; January 23, 2017. China Aid reports that the women were taken into custody on Jan. 10 after authorities broke into the church where they were holding a Bible study around 10:30 a.m. The women were charged with holding an illegal religious meeting. A pastor of the church where the women were meeting told China Aid “We rented a room in the county for regular gatherings. The religious affairs bureau posted a notice, accused us of illegally [gathering], and threatened to ban our church. We did not stop the gatherings; on the contrary, we kept on meeting. The officers from the government departments came and took away our doormat, but we managed to get it back. After about 30 or 40 minutes, they simply walked in and began to grab our chairs. The [Christian] brothers tried to stop them, and the officers began to shove us away and beat us up. They took our stuff away in the end.” Each woman has been sentenced to 10 to 15 days in prison for organizing and participating in unauthorized religious activities. Persecution of Christians has been increasing in China, and it has now become risky for Christians in most places in the country to meet to worship or hold Bible studies. Courtesy: ChristianHeadlines